20. Purdue Boilermakers - 8-4
The Boilermakers had one of the stronger starts to the season, beating then-No. 2 Alabama at home in a shoutout. They also won the Rady Children’s Invitational, beating Ole Miss and NC State in the process. After splitting the Big Ten openers versus Maryland and Penn State, Purdue lost its last two games against SEC opponents Texas A&M and Auburn.
As expected, the backcourt duo of Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith (12,9 ppg and 8.3 apg) has been just fine for the team. But the big question was how they would replace the production from two-time National Player of the Year, Zach Edey.
The answer to that is Trey Kaufman-Renn, who leads the team with 17.9 ppg and 6.6 rpg, including some big outings in the wins over Alabama and Ole Miss. His play has been even more important since starting center Daniel Jacobsen suffered an early-season injury.
Purdue has a home game against Toledo on Sunday to round out the non-con before returning to Big Ten Play. They take on Minnesota on the road before facing Northwestern, Rutgers, and Nebraska afterward.